Bessent Gives Nvidia 10 Days to Address Export-Control Questions

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on November 15, 2026 that Nvidia should recruit its next chief executive from outside the company and that its board and outside counsel should answer questions about export-control compliance within 10 days, Reuters reported.

Speaking on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Bessent said the board needed a “dramatic shakeup” as it searched for a replacement for Jensen Huang. His comments give the board two connected tasks: selecting an outside leader and addressing its compliance culture.

Nvidia’s Leadership Transition

Nvidia announced on November 12, 2026 that Huang had resigned as president, CEO and board member, effective immediately. Colette Kress agreed to serve as interim CEO while remaining executive vice president and CFO, and the board initiated a permanent search covering internal and external candidates. Harvey C. Jones, a former Synopsys CEO and executive chairman, was appointed the board’s first chair; Jones said the board expected operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap to continue without interruption.

Bessent’s outside-only preference is narrower than the board’s stated search, and his compliance request adds another task to the transition Kress and Jones are managing. Nvidia is scheduled to report third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on November 17, 2026.

Export-Control Questions Facing the Board

Huang wrote on November 8, 2026 that Nvidia’s board had initiated an independent investigation into national-security concerns raised in news reports, adding that he supported the inquiry and would cooperate fully. Separately, Senate Finance Ranking Member Ron Wyden and House Ways and Means Ranking Member Richard E. Neal asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on November 12, 2026 to preserve records from the semiconductor investigation and resulting tariffs, Nvidia’s export-license applications and communications involving Nvidia, Huang or their representatives.

The lawmakers described an arrangement in which Taiwan-manufactured H200 chips would enter the United States for security review and a 25% tariff before re-export to China under Commerce Department licenses, and characterized the use of Section 232, which authorizes action against imports deemed national-security threats, as an apparently unconstitutional export-tax system.

The letter also raised due-diligence concerns about Chinese buyers, including alleged cutout companies with no physical presence at their listed addresses, and cited reports that Commerce suspended a separate investigation into Nvidia customer Megaspeed after outreach from Nvidia.

Bessent’s response window makes compliance an immediate board-level issue alongside the CEO search. The next leadership team will inherit Nvidia’s operating plan as well as unresolved questions about export approvals and buyer due diligence, with the independent investigation and congressional records request adding to the scrutiny surrounding that handover.